and actively involved with Jonathan Pollard’s plight for almost 20 years, and we wholeheartedly agree with the Prime Minister that it is time for the U.S. to set Jonathan Pollard free and send him home to Israel.
We urge President Obama to heed the calls of prominent law enforcement personnel and renowned legal professionals such as former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense Lawrence Korb, former U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey, former CIA Director James Woolsey, former Senator Dennis DeConcini of Arizona, who was Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee when Pollard was arrested, and many other elected officials, professors of law, and community leaders, all of whom concur that Jonathan Pollard’s life sentence is grossly disproportionate when compared to the sentences of others who have spied for allied nations.
We hope that the White House will note the fact that Jonathan Pollard has repeatedly expressed remorse for his actions, and acknowledge the fact that Jonathan’s health has been rapidly deteriorating, when considering the Prime Minister’s call to commute his prison sentence.
The National Council of Young Israel strongly encourages people to contact the White House and their federal representatives and urge them to work towards immediately securing Jonathan Pollard’s freedom.
After spending the past quarter-century in a jail cell, it is time for the United States to open the prison gates and allow Jonathan Pollard to return home to his wife, his family, and the Jewish people.”
The following is an Arutz Shevah report:
Israel will formally and publicly ask U.S. President Barack Obama to free Jonathan Pollard, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu announced Tuesday. He said that government officials have paved the way for an appeal through contacts with senior members of the Obama administration.
The appeal will represent a major step to rescue Pollard from a life term in prison for passing to Israel classified documents when he worked for the Pentagon. The usual punishment for the offense is up to four years in jail, and he already has spent the last 25 years in American prisons.
Prime Minister Netanyahu acted after pleas by Pollard’s wife Esther and a string of events and reports the past few weeks that have weakened the American case for imposing a life sentence on Pollard. The Prime Minister’s office stated that the decision to appeal to President Obama “was made following a series of talks and contacts…in recent months with senior U.S. administration officials.”
One of those leading the free-Pollard movement is former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense Lawrence Korb, who revealed that he has spoken with President Obama and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at least six times. He recently has said that Pollard was not dealt with fairly.
Israeli governments have said they have made quiet efforts to free Pollard, and Prime Minister Netanyahu warned them that his appeal to President Obama may not succeed, if not backfire. Esther Pollard, citing her husband’s deteriorating health, said that “this might be my last chance to beg you to change your tactics. There is a greater risk in doing nothing.”
American sentiment never has been strongly behind Pollard, who is widely regarded as a spy although he was not convicted of passing on classified information and not for spying on the United States. CNN, reporting Tuesday on the Prime Minister’s and Korb’s statements. labeled Pollard a “spy.”
In contrast, in Israel and in many Zionist communities in the Diaspora, Pollard’s name is cited as a captive and his name is mentioned in prayers for the return of missing Israel soldiers.
During Prime Minister Netanyahu’s previous term in office, he recognized Pollard as an Israeli agent and granted him Israeli citizenship.
“I intend to continue acting with determination for Pollard’s release, both because of the State of Israel’s moral obligation to him and also so that he might live with his family and be restoredf to health after his prolonged incarceration,” Prime Minister Netanyahu said Tuesday.
On Monday, members of the movement to free Pollard held a ceremony at which they named a park opposite the Prime Minister’s home “Pollard Park.
{Noam Amdurski-Matzav.com Newscenter}
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URL to article: http://matzav.com/prime-minister-netanyahu-publicly-calls-for-pollards-release
